Children in group homes at risk: Saskatchewan's children and youth advocate
Saskatchewan’s Advocate for Children and Youth says children in group homes continue to be at risk because the social services minister hasn’t moved quick enough to address oversight issues raised in a previous report.
In March, advocate Lisa Broda released a special investigation report, documenting the case of a high-needs boy who ran away from his group home. Broda said she found this incident illustrative of a system that doesn’t not have proper oversight.
Broda gave three recommendations for improvement, which the Ministry of Social Services accepted.
However, in a follow-up progress report released Monday, Broda said “the slow movement on achieving the recommendations made in March will continue to place children with highly specialized needs in harm’s way.”
Broda pointed to incidents that occurred this past summer, when she was made aware of a children’s group home in Prince Albert facing allegations of neglect and harsh treatment, lack of nutritious food and medical supplies, and poorly trained staff.
“That’s egregious neglect,” said Broda. “Those children didn’t even receive the basic of human needs, the basic human rights that they should be afforded to, never mind children having the right to the highest attainable standard of health.”
Broda also noted an incident where a high-needs boy in Regina ran away from his group home, and was later found floating in a creek making ‘gurgling’ sounds.
“That child ran away the same as the child here in Saskatoon that ran from his group home. That’s pure and simple supervision,” she said.
NDP social services critic Meara Conway said action is needed now.
“This is like the stuff of nightmares. It is incredibly disturbing stuff. The advocate is clearly concerned about a lack of accountability and service quality,” said Conway.
Broda said the ministry did come up with a plan following her recommendations made in March, but said the plan is not enough.
“If we continue to operate in a reactive manner of our system, and not be actively looking and reviewing and monitoring and seeing how children are being cared for… then we’re going to expect more of this,” she said.
On Tuesday, Minister of Social Services Lori Carr said the ministry is working on creating a dedicated group that will work with group homes on oversight and receiving complaints.
“It should be up an running within a couple of months. It’s taken a little bit of time to get it set up to ensure that it is done properly,” Carr said.
The advocate said on Wednesday she was not aware this group was being set up, and will be looking for more information on it. Broda said her office will also continue to monitor the progress the ministry makes on her recommendations.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
What to know about avian influenza in dairy cows and the risk to humans
Why is H5N1, or bird flu, a concern, how does it spread, and is there a vaccine? Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about avian influenza.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
Pro-plastic lobbyist presence at UN talks is 'troubling,' say advocates
Environmentalist groups are sounding the alarm about a steep increase in the number of pro-plastic lobbyists at the UN pollution talks taking place this week.
'Too young to have breast cancer': Rates among young Canadian women rising
Breast cancer rates are rising in Canada among women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, according to research by the University of Ottawa (uOttawa).
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
$70M Lotto Max winners kept prize a secret from family for 2 months
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Courteney Cox says her partner Johnny McDaid once broke up with her in therapy
Courteney Cox's longtime partner Johnny McDaid once broke up with her in a therapy session.
Are Canadians getting sick from expired food?
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.